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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
A Poor End to an Overly Disappointing Trilogy
I'm at a loss at trying to understand what was running through Peter Jackson's mind as he directed the Hobbit trilogy. Having thoroughly enjoyed TLOTR trilogy, I'm in disbelief at how disappointing these three recent films are. I have just sat through the whole 140-odd minutes of The Battle of The Five Armies, and this final outing has confirmed my suspicions that Jackson has well and truly abandoned his filmmaking skills, having been seduced by the big budgets and apparatus of Hollywood; a path I hope will be rescinded upon with the release of his next film.
The sweeping establishing shots of green screen on steroids, coupled with the gormless, slow motion close ups of the lead protagonists, became painfully tiresome within the opening hour. Maintained throughout, this aesthetic façade was not enough to hide the quality of script and directorial ingenuity that the film completely lacked.
The one potential saving grace of Thorin's psychological battle against the corrupting and obsessive powers of the Arken Stone is bitterly disappointing, as we are shown only glimpses of his conflicted personality, before a a CGI mess posing as a climax, devoid of emotion or psychological exploration, envelops the hero and great hall he walks in. The cheesy group reconciliation that follows, as they enter the battle accompanied by tiny hoofed, giant headed goats that appear under our heroes from nowhere, is the cherry on top of a rather sickly and bloat-inducing cake.
As the final chapters of the book were stretched out over what feels like a marathon viewing, these last few hours were solely focused on milking out as much money from the franchise as possible. I must stop before I truly get into my ranting stride. How this trilogy has managed an average 7.5 on IMDb is beyond me.
Ill Manors (2012)
Underrated?
Ill Manors is a film that does far more than just push the boundaries previously set by British films such as Kidulthood, Adulthood and Harry Brown, of which Ben Drew played key roles in. It bends moral boundaries to a level rarely seen before in British cinema, even when the character does things for the 'greater good', the brutality of the streets re balances the already lop sided scales back into darkness, corruption and greed.
A fantastic blend of black and white re winds, flash backs and present time, in a style similar to that of Pulp Fiction where each characters story gets told and varied perspective on events is shown, on this poor and heartless council estate in London. Narration in the form of a truly brilliant soundtrack by Plan B, and although a surprisingly low amount is used, it makes it all the more effective. The film may seem too much to handle and over worked – this couldn't be any further from the truth. What also impressed me was the micro budget Plan B had to work with, and the way he managed to produce such a professional piece with it - he saves a large amount by recruiting local musicians and up and coming actors/actresses to play key roles, though they play them as naturally and effective as any world-renowned star. Throw in some fantastic performances from the young members of the cast, and Ben was on to a winning formula.
The gritty realism will undoubtedly be difficult for some people to even view, let alone understand or relate to. The films climax is one of the most unforgettable and unpredictable I have ever seen in recent years. The extent to which this film impressed and shocked me, in the standard in which is was created, the plot, characters, and actors involved, means Ill Manors easily waltzes into my top 3 of the year so far.
The Imposter (2012)
Not one to miss...
As soon as I heard about The Imposters premier and Grand Jury award nomination at Sundance Festival I was intrigued, and even more so when it won the same titled award at Miami Film Festival. A documentary on one of histories biggest imposters, Frédéric Bourdin, often referred to as a 'serial liar', this part-documentary, part-live-action film paints an in depth portrait of Frédéric's biggest and best known scam with style. This particular case centres on when Frédéric managed to convince the American and Spanish authorities that he was Nicholas Barclay, a Texas boy who had disappeared at the age of 13 in 1994. This is all the more stranger considering that at the time, 1997, when Nicholas should have been approaching 16, Bourdin was 23, had different colour hair and eyes and a much different stature to that of the young blonde Texan boy. If that's not enough, I should mention he could hardly speak fluent English, let alone without a strong French accent.
Bart Layton and Andrew Hulme, the director and editor respectively, combine brilliantly to create a perfect blend of recent interviews, archive footage and film style recreations to give the audience not only a detailed account of what happened during those months in 1997, but also a look into the personalities of the people surrounding it and the American government policies of the late 90's.
Frédéric Bourdin's interviews are chilling and surreal. The way he recalls every conversation, movement and thought, however shocking each may be, may seem quite incredible, but what fascinated me was the was he tells each with humour, a smile on his face in some cases, providing some welcoming comic relief throughout. Furthermore, his honesty is really quite unexpected in such a situation – he admits now, as he knew back then, that he was wrong in his mass spree of unrepentant lying, especially to an extremely vulnerable family (something, its revealed, he did on several occasions), and he also comments on the ridiculousness of the situation, and how he managed to avoid arrest for so long, not even he knows. But at the same time he describes the situation he was faced with and the options available. It makes the audience ask themselves, "what would I have done?".
The proximity from camera to person during the interviews is also very interesting, especially with Bourdin who is centred on an extreme close- up, his eyes and facial expressions revealing a more personal dimension to the piece. The two family members who are consulted, Nicholas' mother and sister are placed further from the camera, and seem to be attempting to clear there names in some way, although failing quite badly – many audience members actually burst out laughing at some of the comments made by the sister, and her role in this tale gets more and more peculiar as the documentary goes on. The FBI agent in question spends the whole 99 minutes attempting to save her own reputation, but again, falls very short, and her distance to the camera speaks volumes. The addition of Charlie Parker, a private investigator who, in 1998, set himself the task of finding out who Frédéric really was, is a welcomed addition, and gives the audience a viewpoint from someone who isn't trying to improve/save their reputation or hide an aspect of their involvement in the case.
What impressed me most was the integration of different styles – this is much more than a documentary, its entertaining and has undertones of a investigation-styled-thriller. Its entertaining and has real moments of comedy without detracting from the eeriness and surreality of the issue at hand – something many films in this category fail to deliver. Adam O'Brien, who plays Frédéric in the live-action scenes in flawless, the way he cuts off acting mid scene to break the fourth wall and mime Bourdin's words is highly effective, and really gave me the impression that this is Frédéric wanting to tell his story, as much as Layton wanted to create a film on it.
What stayed with me afterwards, you may be surprised to read, was not how crazy Bourdin may be, or how naive the officials who were judging the case were. Frédérics discovery is what makes this documentary truly effective – but I have never been one for spoilers. Although you will, without a doubt, have to keep reminding yourself that this actually happened, this is a must see for any film or documentary lover, and is a top contender for the documentary of 2012.